San Angelo –When it comes to birding across the Lone Star State, the Rio Grande Valley is usually the place folks fly the coop for. Being on the search for a certain songbird brings all sorts of seekers to south Texas all with binoculars in hand. But if you’re looking for an easier way to see some flashy feathered creatures, a trip to The Hummer House near San Angelo should be high on your list.
Dan Brown and his wife Kathy own The Hummer House and on the day we visited it happened to be Dan’s 91st birthday! “Life is an attitude. You got a choice. Mine is mowing forward,” said Dan with a big smile.
Now mowing isn’t first most on Dan’s mind on most days because if he did that, he’d scare away the birds. The Hummer House is Dan’s happy place. This small, quiet spot in Christoval sits on the south Concho River and has been in his family for 100 years. It offers people a place to peek in on Hummingbirds, Cardinals, and the occasional, Black-crested Titmouse, all in an air-conditioned room with some huge windows for observation. “If you sit down and watch birds, you focus your mind on something that’s nature and not yourself or other people, so it’s a form of relaxation, bird watching. Call it what you want to, but it is nature and enjoying it.”
Filling feeders is still on Dan’s to do list and during the migrating season, from April to September, you’d be amazed how much they handout to the hummingbirds. “We feed about 1500 pounds of sugar every year to these little hummingbirds. One feeder at a time,” Kathy says.
But there is another big draw at the Hummer House, the painted bunting. This is a beautiful bird that nests here on the ranch. “There’s probably more painted buntings here than any localized place in the United States,” says Charles Floyd. Charles Floyd has been friends with Dan for 20 years and the former science teacher is a federally permitted master bander. “We have banded roughly 55,000 individual birds here at this location,” said Charles. “We have banded 162 different kinds of birds, that species of birds that are different.”
While the research is important, the most enjoyable part for anyone that happens upon the Hummer House is simply sitting and staring at the birds. This is the perfect way to de-stress and be at one with nature. If you ever find yourself in need of some birdwatching and peace, a stop at The Hummer House is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List!